A previous article explored the factors to consider when thinking about giving employees downtime to work on passion projects. 3M does it and so does Google. If you think your company should implement an “innovation time” programme, here are some basic steps to implement a culture of innovation in your business.

1. Research

Spend sufficient resources researching what programme will suit you best. Look at what other businesses in your industry and geography are doing along these lines. To be able to sell the idea to your management and staff, you need to come up with a solid proposition that will seem reasonable and workable. Don’t shy away from asking them what they think, they will, after all be the ones to vote your idea in or out.

2. Be transparent

Be transparent about implementing such a programme. This is still a relatively new concept to traditionally-run businesses so it’s important to be open and transparent about why you think such a programme is important and how it will be implemented. The last thing you want is to create an atmosphere of scepticism and unease among your staff. This shouldn’t be seen as way to pick and nurture your best staff and alienate the rest. Have an open-door policy to discuss any questions or concerns anyone may have.

3. Create the culture

It’s important that the business, your management and staff are geared towards an innovative culture for this program to work. Mitigate culture shock by taking the right steps to gradually implement such programmes. Bring in experts from outside to help if required. Be open to compliments and complaints so that you know if this is working or not. It’s important first for a culture of innovation to exist before you expect employees to innovate.

4. Structured downtime

There’s a popular school of thought that constraints boost creativity. If you feel the same, there are many ways to do this. Limiting the programme to a few staff, selecting employees on some criteria, as well as prescribing the number of hours per week one can dedicate to a passion project may increase the perceived value of the programme and help improve productive creativity.

5. Direction

While giving your employees a free reign to come up with innovative ideas is good, providing direction will be what takes a great idea to become a great product. By providing direction to these ideas, you can align them with company goals and priorities there by increasing their chances of being executed.

6. Integration

It’s not just enough to encourage an innovative culture, it’s also important to make sure it all comes together. Find ways to integrate passion projects across the organisation so that the coordinated efforts of your employees see ideas through to execution. This will not only make innovating productive but also help achieve your company’s goals.

7. Celebrate success

As with anything new and relatively unstructured, there will always be scepticism. Therefore, it’s important that you create an environment that recognises and celebrates successful innovation. This will not only bring publicity to your business but also demonstrate the value these programmes bring. This will be a big pull to investors and potential employees alike.